Zealous Butler
by ChuChuPig
Summary: Cloud has inherited his father's money, his house, and a butler. Maybe he called himself a butler, but he was much more; A butler, guardian, and partner in life. SoraXRiku pairing as well.
1. Chapter 1 Day 1

Atop a hill, people in black mourned the loss of the head of the Strife family.

"See ya, old man."

Cloud Strife had arrived at his father's funeral just as the casket was being shut. As the crowd dispersed, he lingered behind. Walking up to the luxurious box that held his father's body, he placed a hand on top of it.

His father was a war hero. Zealous and charismatic in everything that he did. His determination led him to become the leader of the strife against the Heartless and gained the liberation of Radiant Garden many years ago. And that's what many ended up calling him;Strife.

"Thanks for the memories," Cloud spoke softly as he shut his eyes, "Oh, and thanks for house. Be sure to give my regards to mother as well." His feelings were always sincere and serious, though most of the time he didn't show his emotions much under his carefully made mask.

He turned, his movements swift as the sword on his back swung with him. There was no reason for him to stay at a funeral for over a few minutes. The teen took off towards his house on Fenrir, making sure to put on his sunglasses. His house. That sure had nice ring to it. It was left behind to him in his father's will with him being him being the eldest son. His little brother, Sora, awaited his return at home. Cloud hadn't allowed Sora to accompany him to the funeral, afraid that it would affect his bubble of happiness that he tended to carry around him at all times. He sped by all of the other people in black. Last to arrive and first to leave.

* * *

><p>"Cloud!" The blond only had half a second to brace himself for the little brown bullet of energy to tackle him into a hug as he opened the front door to the house. Sora then buried his head into the chest of his older brother. The sixteen year old brunette lifted his head to look at Cloud. "I missed you!" he exclaimed with an overly happy smile. For a sixteen year old, he was significantly shorter than Cloud for only being a year younger than him.<p>

"Sir! I apologize on the young master's behalf for his behavior." Cloud could see the slightly out of breath Riku run up to the front door. "Sora," he said in a way one coos their puppy to them, "come here. Cloud must attend to the guest."

Sora quickly ran towards his butler, who was also his best friend and his protector guardian. Riku snaked his arms around Sora's shoulders while about to address Cloud.

"Sir there's a-"

"There's a stranger in the house!" Sora blurted with a goofy grin. Riku quickly clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent any other interruptions while Sora tried to playfully pull the hand away, knowing it was futile as Riku was much stronger than him.

"There's a man in the house looking for you. He's waiting as we speak in the living room and wishes to have a word with you." said Riku as he released his hand over Sora's mouth when Sora decided it would be fun to lick the hand.

"His name?" Cloud asked.

"Won't say."

"That's great." Cloud said as he took a few steps away from the doorway and closed the door behind him. Unstrapping the large sword off of his back, he set it by the front door as he walked into the living room up ahead.

* * *

><p>The house wasn't considered a mansion, but it was large and spacious, and unlike a typical mansion, it didn't have cold, expensive tiles on the floor or expensive paintings and sculptures waiting to be knocked over by some careless kid. Even though his father was wealthy and generous, he wanted his home to be comforting, and so the house was made into a welcoming and cozy home with plush carpeting made to match the colors of the rooms and comfortable furniture for lounging and relaxing. It was a simple home with 2 stories, a front and back garden and yard with a swimming pool in the back, and four spacious bedrooms equal in size with attached bathrooms. All of the bedrooms were on the second floor while the public rooms, like the living room, kitchen, and office was on the ground level.<p>

In the living room sat a handsome brunet clad in a black suit with touches of gold military styled decorations on it, including a gold chain that connected from the left-handed side of the chest area to the shoulder pad on the left shoulder. The suit looked highly expensive, but held familiarity as it resembled Riku's suit, except Riku's suit was composed of black and silver instead of black and gold.

"Who the hell are you?" Cloud asked while creasing his brows together in confusion as he earned the attention of the brunet on the couch.

The said brunet rose up and gave a bow halfway at the waist. He was the same height as Cloud as he rose to his full height.

"I was a good friend of your father's-"

"And why the hell should I care? Why are you in my house? Get out." Cloud said in a low and demanding tone. Riku and Sora sat closely to each other on a couch on the other side of the room, silently watching. Sora nervously glanced between Riku, Cloud, and the stranger while chewing on his lower lip.

"I am your guardian, Cloud. Both your protective guardian just like Riku, and also legal guardian of you and Sora until you turn eighteen. But also, just like Riku is to Sora, I am also your butler at the same time. Riku and I will be working together while I will also be living here like Riku does. I am here to attend to all of your needs, please treat me well."

"What? Whoever decided this? I sure didn't!"

"I'll go make some tea. Sir Cloud, please have a seat." Riku disappeared towards the direction of the kitchen, but Cloud didn't move an inch as he stood five feet away from the stranger."

"Your father did before he passed away," the brunet said, still unfazed by Cloud's attitude.

"But why you? How do I know that I can even trust you?"

"We protector guardians pick our partners, the one we choose to protect, and also a partner in life as well, or in other words a spouse. I chose you, but it's not as simple as that. After we have chosen we are put through multiple tests to test the limits of strength, intelligence, household skills, and relationship skills to test the compatibility likelihood to those we select as our partners and also to allow your father to only choose the best of the best and most qualified for his sons. Riku was selected Sora in the same way and was put through the same tests. You don't choose us, we choose you, and I chose you, Cloud." Leon stated calmly as if he was stating what the weather forecast would be today. He accepted the tea that Riku gave him and took a seat once again on the couch.

Cloud and Sora were both silent, and a little dumbfounded at the new piece of information. Riku finished passing out the tea and returned to the spot next to Sora.

"Is that true, Riku?" Sora asked his butler.

"Yes, all of what he said is true," Riku said as he looked nervously at what Sora's reaction to the whole "spouse" ordeal would be. What he got was a surprise as Sora launched himself at Riku, wrapping his arms around the silver haired man's neck.

"That's so great, Riku. You should have told me earlier." His voice was muffled as he spoke into the neck of his guardian.

Cloud turned his head away from the scene on the other side of the room and made to address the brunet across from him. He was reluctant to take in all the new information and the fact that the stranger across from him would be his guardian and would possibly be as close as Sora was to his guardian. He decided to test the brunet before him to see if he truly was the most qualified for him.

"Okay butler, go get me a glass of water," Cloud said as his voice became a bit less cold and a bit more playful.

"As you wish. I will be back in 30 seconds."

"Make that a vodka."

"You're not of legal age to drink yet."

"Then go make my bed."

"Already done with new sheets as well."

"And if I wanted to have a pillow fight with you?"

"Then we would have a pillow fight, but you wouldn't win of course."

"Have sex with me."

"Jailbait," Leon said with a smirk.

He didn't know what to make of the self-proclaimed butler slash guardian. His brain was on overdrive. He never had to think on the level as the head of the household, that was always his father's job. His job was always just to slay the Heartless that decided to show up on occasion, but even he had Sora and his keyblade to help take them down. What if the brunet was just some kind of spy? But Riku trusted the stranger enough to let him into the house. Looks like chances were meant to be taken.

"Name?"

"Squall Leonhart."

* * *

><p>AN: Chapter 2 will be up soon! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

"So Squall-" Sora started but was suddenly cut off.

"Call me Leon"

"Okay Leon. How old are you?" Sora was trying to get to know the new butler better while Riku was occupied in the kitchen and Cloud finally decided to take a seat on one of the couches looking, well, looking how Cloud always looked.

"I'm twenty."

"Really? You don't look like it. You look the same age as Cloud here," Sora said as he flashed a bright smile at Leon.

"Leon! Could I use your help preparing for dinner?" Riku called from the kitchen.

"Aww you're no fun Riku! I was just about to get to know him better."

"I was doing him a favor before you invade into every crevice of his privacy with that mouth of yours," Riku teased.

"Don't worry young master. We will have plenty of time to get to know each other. I will be around just as much as Riku is." And with that Leon got up from his spot on the couch and joined Riku in the kitchen.

"Sooo. What do you think of Leon?" Sora asked Cloud with a mischievous eyes.

"I don't like him."

"What? Why not? He didn't do anything to make you dislike him."

"Fine. He's alright."

"'Alright'? I was looking for an answer like 'Oh my sweet Shiva Sora! He's so hot and his ass is so juicy!' coming from you," Sora said with a pout.

Cloud couldn't help but give a little eyeroll at that. His subconscious had completely agreed with Sora, but he refused to acknowledge such a thing for the time being. _But that suit really does make his ass look plump. No! Stop it, Cloud! What are you thinking?_ A distraction was needed. He walked over and pinched his pouting lips. "Come on, Goofball, let's go for a swim."

"Right now? But it's 6PM!"

"The pool water is warm at night. Come on." With a ruffle of his little brother's hair, he strolled up the stairs while taking off his shirt, revealing creamy white toned skin and muscles.

* * *

><p>"Sooo.. is Leon a super human?" Sora asked with his mouth slightly agape.<p>

Both the Strife brothers were standing in the doorway of Leon's room clad only in their swim trunks. Cloud remained speechless at the scene in front of them. For the couple of hours that they've known Leon, he had managed to settle into his new home quite well. Mr. Strife's room was cleared of his belongings days before the funeral, and Leon had gladly taken the open room. Speaking of Leon and the room, it looked as if Leon had lived in it for months instead of hours. His gunblades were in a display case against the wall in the far corner, the closet door was opened, revealing many black suits and other apparel. The shelves were already occupied with books, a desktop computer was sitting at the desk along with a laptop next to it. The bathroom door was closed, but an educated guess suggested that it was occupied with many of Leon's personal items as well.

"How did he manage to move all this stuff here all by himself? The only time he was left alone was when me and Riku greeted you at the door!" Sora explained with mild panic.

"Come on. You can ask Leon later. Let's go swim," Cloud said monotonously. Maybe Leon really was a super human. He made a mental note to check into him later on; he definitely didn't want a stalker to be living with him 24/7.

* * *

><p>Cloud went to turn on the underwater pool lights that illuminated the water. Sora on the other hand was testing the water with his feet. Was the water really warm at night? He wasn't given any more time to think about it as he felt a harsh push on his back.<p>

"Woa-woah!" _splash_.

"The best way to go into a pool is definitely a belly flop," Cloud said with a smirk.

"Oh really?" Leon's voice could be heard behind him. Before Cloud even got the chance to turn around, Leon had already placed a firm hand on the small of his back and gave a very firm shove. The satisfying sound of a _splash_ reached his ears.

Blond spikes resurfaced a second later. He shook his hair out like a dog and gave Leon a well deserved glare, his chest being slightly pink with his body weight going into the belly flop. This earned a chuckle from Leon. _I'll get you back for that later. _In retaliation, he splashed a large amount of water at his butler, but as he looked up, Leon didn't sport a drop of water on him.

_"_Gonna have to try better than that, Sunshine," Leon said and ended with a wink._  
><em>

"Bastard." Blue eyes turned around in alertness, "Something's wrong. Sora hasn't resurfaced."

With the underwater pool lights, a massive black blob can be seen forming under the water. Sora could be vaguely distinguished as the blob had a hold on Sora's right leg, and it was obvious that Sora was struggling for air as he let out more and more air bubbles.

"Sora! Fuck!" Cloud shouted in panic. His sword was still by the door where he had left it earlier in the afternoon, and Sora was now a good 20 feet away from him in the pool. The Heartless had now taken form, a hand wrapped securely around Sora's leg and yellow beaty eyes stared at Cloud.

"Cloud, get out of the water. _Now._" Leon demanded.

Two gunshots could clearly be heard a second later, which alarmed the blond. He turned around to see Leon holding a gunblade expertly. Those two gunshots met the targeted Heartless, which let out a muffled cry underwater and its form dispersed and disappeared. Sora was released, but not looking in a very good condition.

Those gunshots alarmed Riku in the kitchen. "What's going on? Sora!" Riku was running at full speed from the house with a yellow apron on. He plunged into the pool where Sora was without hesitation and Riku's speed allowed him to beat Cloud to Sora; walking through water wasn't exactly idea or efficient.

_Just a few feet more. He's unconscious_. _Right ankle bleeding. Wasn't able to summon the keyblade. _Riku took in Sora's condition and made a mental note of all the things gone wrong. His fingertips were finally able to touch his soft skin and he wrapped his arms around Sora's small frame as quick as he could underwater. _Sora.. hang in there. _He tightened his grip on Sora and kicked his feet to rise to the surface.

Cloud felt his body being practically yanked from the pool by his left arm as if he didn't weight 180 pounds of muscle. It happened so fast he didn't register what had happened until he was in Leon's strong arms.

"I told you to get out. It's still dangerous. Stay close," Leon said while keeping a firm grip on Cloud's upper arm.

"Sora!" Cloud yelled. He tried to yank his arm from Leon's hand, but Leon's hold proved to be a death grip. "Let me go!"

"Don't. Give them their space. Riku can handle it, he was trained to."

"But-"

"Just watch."

Riku had worked to shove Sora's body onto the cement first, which proved to be a semi-difficult task as Riku tried to push his body up while in the pool, and Sora was no longer feeling weightless like underwater. He climbed up a moment later with addition weight of his sodden suit. "Sora. Sora! Can you hear me?" His pale hand started to lightly tap his cheek, but with the water on their skin, it sounded like Riku was slapping him pretty hard on the face to Cloud. As if on reflex, he automatically tilted his head up while checking for a pulse. _Pulse confirmed._ He bent his face close to Sora's and leaned his cheek close to Sora's open mouth. _He's not breathing!_And Riku did the only thing he could do. With his two hands locked together, he pressed down onto Sora's chest three times in attempt to pump the water out. Then, he pinched Sora's nose and inhaled to his full lung capacity, placed his lips to cover Sora's, and exhaled, transferring all his previously inhaled air from his lungs to Sora's. He then locked his hands together, one on top of the other, and pressed down three ones on his chest again. Sora's fingers twitched a moment before he jolted up from his horizontal position on the floor and started to cough up all the pool water. Riku let out he breath he was preparing to breath into Sora's lungs again.

_Cough cough cough_.. "Ughhh" Sora laid back down after coughing the last of the water up. "Have the butterflies stopped giggling yet?" Sora said in a slightly slurred voice, looking very dazed as if he had just awoken from a nap. His eyes searched for his guardian's eyes and found them just a few inches away from his face, vibrant eyes analyzing his young master. "Riku? Why are you all wet?" his voice very concerned and thoroughly confused.

Riku just stayed silent as he closes his eyes and wrapped his arms around Sora's shoulders for just a few moments before letting go and meeting those cerulean orbs of Sora's.

"Come on, you're hurt," Riku said as he picked Sora up bridal style and started to carry him up to his bathroom, and Sora didn't object, liking the feeling of Riku's strong arms touching his bare skin.

"Okay. Were you going to cook inside underwater?" Sora indicated to Riku's soaked apron by tugging on it slightly. He was still quite dazed and his eyes were drooping. "I know if anybody were to pull orbits then it'd be only you Riku. You can do anything," he said as he finally let his eyelids shut together.

Riku couldn't help but give Sora a soft smile at that, even though he couldn't see it. He was almost through the doorway when he called behind him, "You guys can help yourselves to dinner. Don't worry about us." he shut the door behind him with his foot. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Cloud and Leon had left soon after Riku did in silence. The blonde had jumped into the shower fist thing to get rid of all the chlorine while Leon had disappeared into his own room.

* * *

><p>They were in Riku's bathroom and Riku practically pushed Sora under the shower spray with his swim trunks still on and ordered him to take a quick shower to get rid of the chlorine while he looked for the medical supplies he needed.<p>

Sora walked out minutes later in one of Riku's blue T-shirts and comfortable shorts, his hair damp but still retaining its spikes.

"All done?" Riku asked.

"Yeah, but I think I got your shampoo and conditioner mixed up," Sora said with a sheepish smile.

"Come to the bed. I need to take care of that wound on your ankle."

Sora did as he was told, walking to Riku's bed and having a seat on the edge while Riku situated himself on the plush carpeting beneath Sora. Riku brought his right ankle out towards him to inspect. The wound looked more like claw marks. It wasn't deep, but the surface area of the wound wrapped around Sora's entire ankle. He took his tweezers and clasped securely onto a cotton ball, dipping it in rubbing alcohol and bringing it to he most red part of the wound first.

"Ouch Riku! Couldn't you be a little gentler?" a frown evident on Sora's face.

"Hold still. I'll give you a reward if you can hold still an not whimper or complain." Riku said as he continued to disinfect the wound.

"Okay."

After a few minutes of very detailed disinfecting on Riku's part, he finished and threw away he cotton ball and put back the supplies. "Now, do you want your ankle to be wrapped like a mummy or a do you want one of 'Riku's Big Boy Band-Aids'"?

"Big Boy Band-Aid! Definitely!" Sora exclaimed excitedly and then released a giggle.

Riku tossed his silver bangs out of his eyes before reaching for the box of 'Riku's Big Boy Band-Aids.' They were the largest size of a bandage with pictures of King Mickey's dog, Pluto.

Sora gave out another giggle after the bandage was securely on, and Riku took a seat on the edge of the bed next to Sora.

"Close your eyes, Sora."

Sora obeyed, but was confused as to why he wasn't allowed to see whatever Riku was doing. But then he felt it. Warm, firm lips locked with his plump pink ones.

Memories of his first time meeting Riku flooded through his mind. Riku was his father's 13th birthday present for Sora, and he remembered Riku's sixteen year old look from three years ago, but never in those three years that he's known the silverette has he done something like this.

Sora opened his eyes in shock, realizing that Riku was kissing him. Riku's eyes were still closed and looked very relaxed, and at that, Sora decided to just let whatever happens, happen. He closed his eyes once more, and when Riku moved his lips and pressed his lips to Sora's again in a chain of closed mouth kisses, Sora kissed him back too. Riku's right hand ended up reached out cupping Sora's left cheek with his thumb stroking his cheek, and Sora had eventually shyly wrapped his arms around Riku's shoulders.

With a sigh breathing out from his nose, Riku gave Sora one last kiss before he pulled back and looked into the eyes of a very dazed brunet with pink tinted rosy cheeks.

"That's your reward."

"Really? You should give me more challenges so that I can get more rewards.. I like that reward." Sora smiled a very goofy grin. "Hey Riku?"

Riku couldn't help but smile at that. "Hm?"

"You're still wet. You'll catch a cold if you don't take a warm shower right now." Sora was right. Riku had been so focused on Sora that he forgot about taking a shower himself; he didn't really want his pretty silver locks to be damaged from the chlorine now, did he? The yellow apron had already been tossed into the laundry first thing after Riku ushered Sora into the shower, but his suit was still very drenched.

"That's right. I'll go take care of that now." Riku made to get up and walked two steps before Sora's hand shot out and reached for his wrist, stopping Riku in his tracks.

"Riku," Sora called, and as Riku turned around, Sora quickly locked his arms around the taller teen's neck and placed a quick peck on his lips. "Thanks, for everything," he beamed a bright smile at his butler, "and don't get the shampoo and conditioner confused like I did."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Cloud was crouched down low in front of Sora's open door to his bedroom, peeking inside to check on his brother's condition and trying not to get caught. Too late.<p>

"Hey," a whispered breath came from behind him.

Cloud had his sword on him this time, and automatically reached for his sword and turned around, but dropped his sword back down when he saw that it was only Leon crouched down behind him as well.

"Don't scare me like that," Cloud hissed in a whisper.

Leon ignored him. "So how's the little guy doing?"

"Oh don't worry, he's completely fine, extremely happy in fact. Riku has been spoiling him with all of his favorite sweets. Just take a look at his bed."

Leon peeked around Cloud, and indeed, there was Sora on his bed looking completely in bliss as he munched on food off of his sweets filled bed, Riku sitting a few spots away from him on his bed too. "Does Riku always do that?"

"It's his way of apologizing to Sora for letting him get hurt. Does Riku _have _to watch him that intently while Sora's licking a popsicle?"

Leon let out a low chuckle. "Sora's his chosen partner in life, I'm sure he's having his own sexual fantasies." That earned an elbow to his gut from Cloud. "Oof. Ouch, easy there. I was going to ask you if you wanted to have a little chat with me in my room."

"About what?"

"How I'm going to work."

"Oh I know how you work alright."

"I meant about me being your butler and guardian. Come with me."

"Only if you agree to go fetch my sword next time when I don't have it on me so that my pride isn't completely hurt like it was today."

"Deal."

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you like the story so far! I only know that you guys like it when you review, so please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you have any questions for me that you would like to have answered?" Leon asked as he closed the door behind Cloud and took a seat on his bed. He patted the spot next to him to welcome the blonde onto it, and Cloud took Leon's offer, plopping down on the comfortable mattress a few spots away from the brunet and laying his sword on the ground. The room was only illuminated by a small lamp, making the room very dim.

"Well, just a few," Cloud said hesitantly as he picked at Leon's blanket.

"Go ahead and shoot. Ask me anything," Leon replied. He could sense the uneasiness radiating off Cloud. It must have been because it was the first time the pair was left alone, and Leon expected to have a little chat with Cloud, meaning the stoic blonde had to _talk._

"For starters, where did you come from?"

"I came from my mother's vagina of course. People aren't magically made, Cloud."

"I-That's not what I meant!"

"I know, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood since you look very uneasy. Just lay back and relax. This might take a while so you might as well get comfortable."

With a sigh, Cloud did as he was told, flopping onto his back and pressing his back into the mattress while his legs dangled off the edge of the bed. He really did feel more relaxed, maybe a bit sleepy too, and he got a good view of Leon's profile. Cloud didn't miss the fact that Leon seemed to catch onto his uneasiness, taking note that Leon seemed to be a very detailed person.

Cloud spoke up again, "So in all seriousness, what did you do and where did you live before coming here today?"

"Ah, so you want my background story. From the beginning?"

"From the beginning."

Leon turned his head and looked down a little to catch Cloud's eyes. It was the first time Cloud had the opportunity to have a close look at Leon's face. He noticed Leon's beautiful steel grey eyes surrounded by a thick lash line and a very obvious scar. Cloud inwardly wanted to reach up from his spot on the bed and trace his index finger along the scar that ran across Leon's face, but he knew he couldn't; it was just that, his scar made him look so hot and manly.

"In Radiant Garden, there's a small orphanage that I grew up in. It housed the orphans of those whose parents were lost in the effort of liberating Radiant Garden from the Heartless, my parents included. I had entered the facility at age two, but when I was eight years old, the orphanage was going to be shut down. All of the fifty kids, me included, would have been dumped onto the streets to fend for ourselves after the facility was closed, leaving us homeless and hungry, but it was your father that saved us.

One day I was playing in the orphanage playground and your father just happened to be passing by. He offered me a small treat through the fence and asked me to tell him about myself and the orphanage. A few days before the orphanage was meant to be shut down, your father had bought the orphanage himself and took us into his care. He gave us a second chance, but in return, we were to live the lives he set us out to live; as butlers and guardians for the elite classes.

Every day, we would wake up before dawn to learn and get trained. On Mondays, it was training for household duties like cooking and cleaning. Tuesdays were the days we were given lessons on relationships and etiquette, whatever we would need to know to please our masters. On Wednesdays we were given lessons on the real world, everything that had to do with being outside of the orphanage. Thursdays and Friday were the days we would be taught how to wield weapons and fight, and after sparring with our weapons masters there, we would have the weekend to rest up and prepare for Monday all over again."

"Was the hardest part learning how to fight?" Cloud asked.

"No, not for me. The hardest part for me was learning how to fold clothes as part of the household duties."

"_That_ was the hardest part?" Cloud asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"Yeah. Before your father had taken over the orphanage, we only had one set of clothes and that was the set we wore all the time until we washed it once a week, and even then we would sit and wait for the clothes to dry. It kept us humble and disciplined. Most of the butlers feel a lot of gratitude towards their masters when they see how generous they are towards them now."

Cloud laid there in a long moment of silence; it was a lot to process. He had known that his father had taken over an orphanage, and even paid a visit there a few times as a kid, but all the other information was new to him. Leon speaking had broken him out of his thoughts.

"I can't wait until I can do your laundry and fold your clothes. It would mean all the training would be paid off-"

"You're not going anywhere near my laundry," Cloud stated firmly. The thought of Leon touching his boxers and briefs sent shivers down his spine at the mental image. No no, he couldn't allow permission for Leon to do his laundry. He could just imagine Leon doing perverted things with his clothes, like bringing a pair of boxers up to his nose and inhaling his scent with a look of pure bliss. He shook himself out of his thoughts and asked, "Was Riku in the same orphanage? Were there any girls?"

"I do remember Riku being there, but he was always on the other side of the facility and maybe only spoken a few sentences to me while there. I was only aware that he existed, but he didn't have the same weapon specialty as me, and I didn't know he chose your brother . He was able to leave after only about 9 years of training. And no, there weren't any girls in our facility. I didn't mention any "maids" coming out of the orphanage, only butlers." Leon explained.

"So if Riku got to leave so soon, how come you chose this time to show up and not sooner? Don't orphanages provide shelter for kids until they reached eighteen years old?" Cloud let his curiosity be known.

"At the bare minimum, a person would leave when he has mastered his combat skills and passed the rigorous tests in each category, but even after, one could stay until he was fully ready to meet the one he chose for a master as long as it took, even after the age of eighteen."

"How exactly are we 'chosen'? You mentioned it a couple times before already."

"A few computers were installed into the orphanage. All available candidates are entered into our database and are put into a big catalog. When we click on a person's picture, a magazine-like program pops up and show us pictures uploaded by the candidate's parents and information on the person. Once we select our masters, no one else in the orphanage is allowed to choose that candidate, but once we choose our masters, there's no turning back."

"How many candidates are in the database?" Cloud asked

"Hundreds at a given time."

_Hundreds?_ Cloud thought. _If I was one of the many hundreds then…_

"Then why choose me?" Cloud wondered aloud.

"Do you know how I got this scar?" Leon asked, indicating to the referred scar by pointing at it with an index finger.

"I barely know you. How do you expect me to know?"

"You gave it to me, don't you remember? When you came to visit the orphanage one time with your father, we played with each other in the playground. You thought it'd be funny to push me off the side of the hill. Do I have to mention that the hill was full of sharp rocks?" Leon said, his tone not showing an ounce of bitterness, but rather, playfulness.

"I-uh.. sorry," Cloud said as he scratched his head uneasily. He could vaguely remember going to the orphanage and playing with the kids. His ears showed a tint of pink at the embarrassment of his immaturity as a kid. Looking up at the ceiling, he suddenly felt very sleepy with the dim lighting and the gentle sound of Leon's voice.

"When your profile showed up in the database, I just knew I had to choose you. Even after all these years, I remember your chocobo hair," Leon said with a most definite smirk playing on his lips. "Cloud?"

"Hmm?" Cloud responded quietly, feeling very exhausted and the dream world was slowly pulling him in.

"You can sleep here if you want," Leon said, awaiting for the blonde's reaction.

"Mm.. you sure?" Cloud replied in a mumble.

"Yes. Now sleep. Good night, Master," Leon said as he watched Cloud's eyelids flutter close, his long eyelashes resembling the fluttering wings of a lazy butterfly.

"Don't call me master, it makes you sound like a porn star," Cloud mumbled into the arm he was using as a pillow.

Leon couldn't wait but smile at that. He waited a good few minutes before he was sure Cloud was asleep by hearing his even breathing before slowly hooking an arm under the knees of Cloud's hanging feet and another arm under his back. Careful not to wake the blonde up, he gently lifted the 180 pound man with ease and onto his soft pillows. He made his way into his bathroom to change into comfortable sleepwear before getting into bed next to Cloud and pulling his blankets over both of them. _You're so beautiful. I've waited years for this day to come, the day where I would finally be by your side._ Leon closed his eyes, leaned in towards Cloud, and placed a soft kiss against a perfectly shaped blonde eyebrow.

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><p>The unfamiliarity of the mattress woke Cloud. He was warm, very warm, and he snuggled closer to the warm softness. <em>I could stay like this forever.. so comfortable.<em> After a few content moments, royal blue eyes opened in alarm, faced with a very bare chest of a certain butler. The early morning beams of sunlight filtered into the room, allowing Cloud to take in his surroundings. His eyes dilated in horror as he realized that he was trapped a strong embrace with his head tucked under Leon's chin. He tried to move out of Leon's strong hold, but that proved to be impossible without waking the other male up.

In Cloud's attempt at freedom, Leon had stirred, and to Cloud's horror, draped a leg over Cloud's leg. The blonde sucked in a hitched breath. _Oh, perfect._ Cloud mentally face palmed. He had only two options; 1.) To wake Leon up and kick is ass for taking advantage of his unconsciousness, or 2.) stay where he was in the comfortable position, not protest, and just go back to sleep. He twisted his head around slightly to look at a nearby alarm clock. **7:00AM** _Well I guess it couldn't hurt to sleep in a little more. I just have to wake up before Leonhart to regain my dignity._ Cloud let out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes once more, relaxing into the embrace and going back to the dream world once more.

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><p>Cloud stirred, beginning to wake up.<p>

"Mmm," he groaned.

"You know, for a masculine guy like you, you smell very girly. In fact, you smell kind of fruity," Leon said. While he no longer held Cloud, he had been awake for a couple of hours, just watching the blonde sleep, but that comment earned a first to his gut. He could have easily blocked the punch, but any affection from his master, be it romantic or physically painful, would be welcomed for now.

"Shut up," Cloud said, now more awake than ever, swung himself out of bed and stormed out of the room.

Leon watched the retreating back with a smile on his face. His new master seemed to be very grumpy and rather difficult, but he didn't care; he already loved him.

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><p>AN: This chapter was meant to be more informational and I know it may be a little boring for now, but just hang in there! o(^3^)b Chapter 4 will be up shortly. Support me with your reviews :D


	4. Chapter 4 Day 2

A/N: Sorry.. this was supposed to be posted yesterday but my internet provider's wi-fi was down in my area and I couldn't upload! On another note, I've decided that I would title a chapter the day number so that's it's maybe a little less confusing(?) because it seems that multiple chapters are making up a day in the story.. we're barely on day 2 and it's chapter 4.. Anyway, please enjoy!

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><p><em>Just a little bit further..<em> Sora was on his tippy toes with his arm stretched to its limits. It was currently breakfast time in the Strife household, and as always. Sora was the first one to make it into the kitchen by the time the 8 o' clock hour rolled by. Just barely out of Sora's reach sat his favorite cereal bowl; if only he were taller.

"Which one?" Riku appeared besides Sora, his arm easily reaching the top shelf of the cabinet.

Sora had nearly jumped out of his skin at the appearance of his butler, he could never get used to Riku's silent footsteps. He retreated his hand and replied, "The one in the middle with that's shaped like Pooh Bear's head."

"Here you go," Riku brought it down for the brunet, who in turn smiled an embarrassed smile at him and took the bowl. Little did the brunet know that Riku was always the one who put the bowl on the very top shelf every time. On purpose. It was a rather cute display watching his master struggle some mornings to reach for the bowl while Riku hid behind a wall laughing quietly to himself. It never hit the brunet to use a kitchen stool or chair, and one time Riku even caught Sora summoning Stitch to climb up and get the bowl for him. "Waffles or pancakes?" he asked as he walked towards the other cabinets to gather some ingredients into his arms.

"Pancakes!" He started to pour a generous amount of cereal into his bowl and added some milk, which he sloppily made spill over the edge of his bowl. "Hey Riku?" Sora was hesitant if he should ask his butler for what he wanted.

"Yeah?" Riku turned to face him

"Umm… Can I uhh.." a very big pause,"..never mind forget it Riku," Sora said as he turned to the side to hide his blush.

Riku understood completely. If t wasn't that he could read the younger teen's body language after three years, it was Sora's pink blush that gave him away. He emptied his arms of the ingredients, and with a smile, he put both hands on either side of Sora, pinning him to the kitchen counter. Sora looked up into the silverette's eyes, confused at the sudden movement, before getting the hint and closing his eyes as Riku's face leaned in to place a soft kiss on Sora's pink lips, once, twice, three times, and Sora didn't forget to kiss him back. The brunet didn't know what to do with his hands as Riku continued to kiss him, but he pulled on Riku's tie to get him to deepen the kiss with one hand and the other hand gripping the sleeve of Riku's dress shirt. Riku took a step closer to Sora, leaving no space between their bodies as he pressed his body flush against the younger teen's, the kitchen counter digging into Sora's back now. The older teen only got as far as sucking in Sora's bottom lip and giving him a light nibble before footsteps could be heard coming towards the kitchen, and Riku swiftly drew back from Sora two seconds before Leon entered the kitchen.

"Sora, your cereal is getting soggy. Good morning, Leon," Riku said as he walked back to where he left the ingredients for the pancakes, acting as if nothing happened.

Sora was confused at the sudden lack of body heat when Riku pulled back but realized he probably couldn't hear Leon's footsteps as the sound of his heartbeats were pounding into his ears. He sat down at the kitchen table with a pout as he saw the state of his cereal. He raised his head a little to look at Leon, who was making his way to the refrigerator. "Hi Leon! Cloud's not awake yet?" He scooped up a spoonful of soggy cereal and ate it before scrunching up his nose in mild disgust and scooping the rest of the soggy cereal into the trashcan. He gave up on the cereal and decided to just drink the milk in the bowl. Now he just had to wait for Riku to finish making the pancakes.

"Oh, he's up alright. He was awake enough to punch me in the gut this morning," Leon said as he finished pulling out an armful of oranges. "Orange juice, Sora? Riku?"

"Yes please," both of them replied in unison, and Sora gave a sweet smile just for Riku to see.

**(10 minutes later)**

The doorbell rang and all three males sitting at the kitchen table rose their heads.

"If it's a police officer, I didn't do it," Sora said with a blank face as he took another bite of his pancakes.

"It should be for me. I'll get it," Leon said as he rose from his seat and exited the kitchen.

"Hey Riku?" Sora called as he turned to face his butler seated next to him.

"Hm?" was the response.

"Does this make us boyfriends?" Sora asked with a huge grin on his face. He only asked half-jokingly, but got a serious answer in response.

His question made the silverette's heart skip a beat. Being boyfriends was one step closer to being his partner in life, his husband. A rare, genuinely happy smile appeared on his lips as he replied with a simple, "Yeah."

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><p>"Delivery for a.. Squall Leonhart?" the postal service man said at the door of the Strife household.<p>

"That's me," came Leon's reply.

"Sign here please, Mr. Leonhart."

Leon signed his name on the electronic pad and the delivery man left shortly after. In his hands lay two small cardboard packages and he made his way back to his seat at the kitchen table. Holding the smaller package in one of his hands, he whipped out his gunblade and sliced the cardboard in half so quickly that he made Sora jump in his seat and Riku had placed a protective arm in front of the brunet, afraid that he'd get hurt. Miraculously the components inside of the package spilled onto the table in one piece, unharmed.

"This is for you, Riku," Leon said as he held out a device in his hand for the other butler to take.

"What is it?" he reached his hand forward to take the device and turned the small object over to inspect it. From what he could tell, it was a small, sleek earpiece.

"Think of them as high-tech walkie-talkies. The sound is crystal clear and it's easy to conceal if you don't like the design," Leon explained, turning an identically looking earpiece on and hooking it onto his ear. "They're already connected to each other."

"That's so cool!" Sora said. He took the earpiece from Riku and helped him put it on his right ear. "Riku, you might just have to curl your hair behind your ear all the time just to show it off." The hands he was using to help put on the earpiece slid around Riku's shoulders as his body oozed from his seat to Riku's lap, giving him a very happy hug.

"Yeah I just might," said Riku who had wrapped his arms around the brunet securely to prevent him from falling.

Leon watched the display with mild amusement while he was prying open the other package with much more care. "Have you guys told Cloud of your relationship yet? Don't think that I am unaware of what you two were doing in the kitchen this morning."

Sora buried his face in Riku's neck to hide his embarrassment and Riku changed the subject to Leon instead. "Have you done your oath with Cloud yet?" the silverette asked.

"No, not yet. It'll happen today or tomorrow depending on the timing. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to take care of." He put his plate from breakfast into the sink and grabbed the plate of pancakes on the counter that was meant for Cloud along with the half-pried open package and made his way into the blonde's room. He knocked twice and opened the door.

Cloud was sitting at his desk looking up recent Heartless sightings in Radiant Garden on his computer. He turned around when he heard footsteps approaching him and locked eyes with a pair of steel gray eyes.

"I bought you breakfast," the brunet said as he placed the plate of pancakes next to Cloud's keyboard along with a fork.

"Thanks," came the short reply as he turned his attention back to the computer screen, his right hand broke off a piece of the pancakes with the fork as his eyes stayed glued to the computer as he read the text in front of him. He turned his head a little when he noticed that Leon hasn't left yet, and instead he had settled himself in a nearby chair, prying the rest of the cardboard package apart. "What's that?" he asked as he took another bite of his breakfast.

"Your worst nightmare," Leon said when his eyes met royal blue orbs but returned his attention back to opening the package with care.

Cloud was confused and a little intrigued. How could his worst nightmare fit into a small box like that?

"Finish your food. I don't want you throwing up after you see this," the brunet said casually as he turned his body to hide the box's components from the blonde's eyes temporarily.

Cloud furrowed at his eyebrows as he ate the rest of the pancakes. He really didn't know how to act around the adult. There was still so much mystery around Leon that it attracted him to the brunet. Even with their short time together, he felt safe knowing he had practically his own personal body guard around him; a body guard that mopped the floors, did the laundry, and washed the dishes.

"What's that?" The blonde asked again now that he was finished with his food. His eyes bulged as Leon turned around to reveal to Cloud what he was hiding all along until this time. In Leon's hands held a single syringe.

"You haven't treated your Hepatitis A yet, right?" Leon asked without looking at Cloud. The blonde was currently forgetting to breathe as he watched Leon poke the syringe needle into a tiny bottle and drawing a clear fluid into the syringe.

"Oh no. No Way. You're not sticking that thing into me." Cloud said in one huff of breath that he had been holding in and slowly slid off his chair and tried to put as much distance between him and the needle as possible.

"Cloud, dying in battle may be seen as heroic. Dying because of constant diarrhea is just plain embarrassing. You don't have immune strength against the virus or even against eating contaminated food." Leon explained patiently; he expected such a reaction from the ever cool and collected blonde.

"I hate needles!"

"I'll be gentle."

"You'd have to tie me down and gag me before I ever let one of those things poke me!"

"It's just a needle, Cloud. It'll take less than ten seconds."

"No way! Nuh-uh! There's no—"

"I'll let you play with my gunblade."

"—way. . . What?"

"I'll let you play with my gunblade," Leon repeated.

Cloud thought about it for only a moment's second. "Deal. Let's get this over with. I'm not going to look." Cloud moved quickly to the bed and stuck his right arm out towards Leon, turning his head the other way.

"Cloud, this isn't going into your arm."

"Then where?" The blonde turned his head to look at Leon, thoroughly confused.

"You might want to lay down on your stomach for this," Leon said with a blank expression on his face.

"Are you serious? Oh gods, there is no way that you are going to give me a shot up my ass."

"It is actually your right buttcheek. You're a man of your word right? You called it a deal just a moment ago."

Leon had him, and he knew it. Cloud always kept his word. The blonde let out a growl of frustration as he was able to crawl onto his stomach on the bed.

"Don't forget to take off that belt." Leon was inwardly smiling a smile so bright it made the sun jealous.

With his back facing Leon, Cloud was on his knees on the bed, unbuckling his bed, unbuttoning the top, pulled down his zipper and his pants, and plopped down onto his stomach, his face buried into a pillow.

It was something about the sound of Cloud's zipper being pulled down that made Leon want to wish that the situation was different, but this would have to do for now. He crawled to sit to the right of Cloud's butt, careful to not break the syringe and in his other hand was a wet cotton ball dripped in disinfectant. He was very disappointed that Cloud forgot the final step.

"Cloud you're going to have to pull your boxers down for me."

A mumbled curse could be heard as the blonde complied and quickly pulled his boxers down to reveal creamy white skin on a plump ass. Leon didn't waste any time as he could clearly feel unease radiating off of Cloud, and another problem was growing in his own pants. Before he got to the main business, he whipped out a sleek cellphone, got the best angle, and snapped a quick picture of the sight before saving into his phone, all without Cloud noticing. _That's going to be my wallpaper later_ he thought. He quickly rubbed the cotton ball onto the spot where the needle was going to go, and without a moment's hesitation he had stabbed the needle into creamy flesh and gave the syringe a constant, quick squeeze, injecting the clear substance into Cloud. He finished within ten seconds like promised.

"Do you want a band-aid?" Leon asked as he gathered the materials to be thrown away. He waited for a response, but none came, nor did Cloud pull his pants back up.

Was he crying? Was the shock of a needle penetrating his skin that emotionally traumatizing to him that he was still in shock? Did he kill Cloud? He didn't want to be sent back to the orphanage after failing to protect and server his master after less than two whole days being was just about to hit a button on his earpiece to tell Riku to help him out because he was clearly mentally freaking out.

There was a steady rise and fall of the blonde's body. It finally hit Leon, though he couldn't believe it.

"I can't believe you fell asleep during the time you were getting a shot. Talk about falling asleep once your head hits the pillow. That wasn't even a tranquilizer," the brunet said in disbelief. Leon was about to get up and take care of a.. problem.. in his pants before an idea hit him. He should take advantage of the situation.

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><p>AN: No, this story is not going to have any rape in it, so while I leave you with a cliffhanger, you can cross that off the list of possible situations :D!

I really don't know if you can give a Hepatitis A shot through your butt, but I DO know that shots are given in that area! Did that even make sense? Oh well, but let's pretend we can just for that situation kekekeke. You can wikipedia Hepatitis A if you don't know what that is.

When I think of Leon, I just picture him having sleek and shiny devices.

Maybe if I get more reviews I will upload the next chapter faster? Pretty please? =)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm sorry I didn't update faster! But I really did appreciate every single review that was posted last chapter. I really wanted to post faster, but it didn't work well with all the content I had intended to put into this chapter! So sorry once again, but please enjoy the well awaited chapter.

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><p>Leon didn't want to be accused of touching anything, so he had left the room without pulling Cloud's boxers or pants back up, leaving the articles where Cloud had left them, down around his knees while he still laid on his stomach on the bed.<p>

When Cloud woke up, he was absolutely furious. At first though, he was confused to as why his lower half was naked, and then he remembered the shot and Leon, and nothing good could have come out of that. He took off his boxers and pants completely as his hands felt around his body to make sure there was nothing wrong with him like a third arm, but everything felt normal. He walked over to his mirror and checked his reflection, and not a single imperfection was shown; that is until he turned around. In a very contrasting color to his white skin was the cursive word "**Leonhart**" in bold, permanent marker across his left buttcheek.

Cloud was two steps away from opening his bedroom door and marching on over to Leon's room when he had to backtrack and cover his naked arse. The more time he spent not kicking Leon's ass just infuriated him more and he stomped all the way from his room to Leon's doorframe and stopped dead in his tracks.

Leon's back was to Cloud, facing his sliding mirror closet, sporting damp hair and wet skin, and utterly lacking clothing. The moment Cloud took one step into the room, the waistband of Leon's red briefs were barely halfway up his thighs, giving Cloud only a moments glimpse of the creamy sun-kissed skin of Leon's ass. With a final snap of his waistband against his hips, Leon raised his arms to flip through his clothes, water droplets from his shoulders dripped down to his back. He picked out black pants and a sleeveless black top and tossed them onto his bed. The brunet ran his fingers through his hair a few times and slid the door to his closet closed.

From Cloud's vantage point at the door, when Leon slid the mirror door closed, he got a really nice view of Leon's front body. The skin tight red briefs Leon was wearing left no imagination to the eye as it perfectly outlined his manhood. Cloud's anger had died down and he unconsciously licked his lips as he stayed close to the wall, hoping that he'd be hidden just a bit longer. So far, Leon did not seem to have noticed his guest yet. Leon had his eyes downcast as he reached his right hand into his briefs and readjusted himself. Cloud's cock twitched at that.

Grabbing the black pants off of the bed and slipping them on, he zipped up his pants a little more slowly and started to put on a belt. Well, that's it for that wicked fashion show.

"How long are you going to keep spying on me?"

Cloud was too entranced into watching Leon change that he jumped out of his skin when Leon met his eyes through the mirror and spoke up.

"I was just uhh.. getting my sword." That statement became true as Cloud spotted his sword at the foot of Leon's bed which he had left there since last night by the door and have been moved since by Leon himself. The blonde became so focused on retrieving his sword that he had forgotten the reason he was in Leon's room in the first place, until the brunet reminded him.

"So how are you feeling?" Leon asked. Now, that wasn't asked in a concerned voice at all, rather in a very playful and teasing tone and he watched the blonde stop right in his tracks and blink twice, then Cloud's whole body language changed to one of tense anger.

"Leon! How could you do that!" Sword forgotten, he made his way to Leon, a mere inch away from his face as he pointed an accusing finger at Leon.

"How could I do what?" Leon feigned innocence.

Cloud lost all patience as his face heated up and his whole face was turning pink. "This!" He turned away from Leon and in a split second, pulled down his pants along with his boxers and practically mooned at Leon.

Leon leaned back from where he was standing and let out a low whistle as he took in the very nice sight of Cloud's ass with his signature on it. "Wow Cloud, that looks very nice. You should get that tattooed."

"Arrgh!" Cloud let out a frustrated sound as he quickly pulled up his pants, but what happened next neither of them would have expected it. Cloud had turned around and put both hands on Leon's chest and gave a very firm shove which resulted in Leon falling harshly backwards onto his bed, and Cloud climbed on after him, hovering his body above Leon's. Leon was quite astound by the blonde's boldness and but otherwise remained unfazed. "You. Owe. Me. For that bellyflop yesterday, for this morning's comment about the way I smell, and for tattooing my ass with your name on it in permanent marker." Cloud had Leon's arms pinned beneath him and he leaned in and was a mere inch away from forcing a kiss from Leon's lips, but even someone as strong as Cloud would be no match for Leon.

Leon would always be stronger than Cloud, and he proved so by clamping a hand against his lips under the blonde's strong hold. It had hurt him, it really did. No matter how much he wanted Cloud to kiss him, or for him to kiss Cloud, right now wasn't the moment.

"We can't yet, Cloud. You're not doing this for any of the right reasons. To get back at me or as a form of repayment, do you think that's a good way to have your first kiss with me?" Leon asked as he watch Cloud slowly draw back as if realizing for the first time what he was about to do.

"I..uhh,"

"We can't kiss until we have made our oath."

Leon sat up and rummaged through his pants pocket and withdrew a small velvet box containing two rings.

"Oh gods, Leon. Please don't tell me you're proposing. We haven't even kissed yet."

"No Cloud, this is the oath. It makes our relationship official, giving me the title of being your exclusive butler and guardian. The rings are magically bound." He held out the less intricate one and handed it to the blond, "You can put that one on me."

Cloud to the ring in his hand and examine it slowly. Their ring was a rather silver and plain, but the luster it gave off hinted to Cloud that it was rather expensive. "So you're not really my butler until I put this ring on you?" He finished examining it and looked into steel gray eyes. His anger was long gone. "Which finger does it go on?"

"The left ring finger." He held out his right ring finger just like he said and waited for him to put it on, which the blonde did delicately, lightly brushing his fingers against Leon's. Once securely on, Leon spoke up once again, "Before you accept this ring I'm about to put on you, you must accept its full responsibilities. Your ring is a bit more complicated than mine. While my ring doesn't affect you, if you ever were to take this ring off of you purposefully, it would send shockwaves into my body until I die."

"What? Then why would I ever want to put a thing like that on?" Cloud asked in utter disbelief; it sounded like some dangerous toy with dire consequences. "There's no way I'm going to-"

"Please?" Leon asked with a pleading look and for the first time he looked vulnerable. It wasn't a look that he would be showing too often, just once to show that he really needed Cloud to accept this oath because he was willing to do anything in his power to protect him, no matter the consequences.

It had something to do with the way he looked at him, because it was working. The blond hesitantly looked at the other ring in the box before replying, "Okay, but I really don't understand why anyone would put something like that on," in a soft voice.

Leon had taken the other ring from the box and was inwardly smiling. "Give me your right hand."

Cloud complied, placing his right hand onto Leon's open left palm, his eyes completely trained on Leon's face and his utterly beauty scar. Blue eyes trailed downwards to the brunette's bare chest but his attention was brought back to the ring when Leon brought Cloud's hand to his lips, kissing the ring he had just placed and leaving tingles on his fingers.

"So why would someone take off the ring again?" Cloud asked.

"They would take it off if they no longer wanted us as their butler or if we have failed as butlers and enraged our masters," Leon explained.

Cloud had barely taken notice to something, seeing their rings brush slightly against each other as Leon hadn't let go of his hand yet. This was his first good look at the ring; his obviously different from Leon's. The ring was silver also, but the engraved designs gave off a shinier sparkle. "Why are our rings on different hands? My ring is so much girlier than yours."

"Mine is on the left hand because when shockwaves are sent, it's sent through the ring, and since the heart is more inclined to the left side of the body, it would kill me faster."

Cloud was a bit surprised at Leon's passive tone about the ring being able to kill him so quickly. "I won't take it off. I promise," Cloud said with all sincerity and gave Leon's hand a slight squeeze.

The brunette could help but show a rare smile to the blonde. It was the simple gesture of Cloud squeezing his hand that let him know that Cloud had started to accept him into his life. That realization made his cold heart melt into place. He's been waiting for moments like this and dreaming for this day of the oath ever since he was a small child in the orphanage, but never had he imagined that it was true that he would end up quite in love with his master, even if it was only day two.

What he thought was his imagination of his heart melting soon made itself noticed as Leon abruptly bent at the waist downwards clutching his left breast area. Cloud was confused to what Leon was doing. When Leon's body bent in half he dragged their intertwined hands down onto the mattress. It was when Leon let out a groan that he knew the brunet was in pain.

"Leon! Leon, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Cloud was panicking. He glanced at his hand and saw that the ring was still on, so it had nothing to do with shockwaves right?

"The o-oath is.. ugh.. is embedding itself into my heart," Leon managed to choke out through clenched teeth. When he tried to lift his body up, Cloud saw it. There above the area of his heart was a glowing blue rune with symbols, and even though Leon's hand was covering most of the rune in pain, the bright hue of the light was a bit blinding to the eye.

Cloud felt the worst feeling in the world; helplessness. There wasn't anything he could do to ease the other's pain as he watched Leon's face contort in pain while the rune slowly disappeared into his heart. Within a few moments, the light was gone and the rune completely disappeared into Leon's body, but left the brunet gasping for air.

"Shit.. Didn't see that one coming," Leon said as he refilled his lungs with much needed air, and Cloud let out the breath he was holding in all this time.

"Are you hurt Leon? Do you still feel the pain? I'll go get you some water." Cloud made to move away and let go of Leon's hand, but Leon's grip just held on tighter.

"No, Cloud. I'm fine, stay here. I just need to catch my breath," Leon said as he appeared to be breathing a bit easier now, and within a few moments he seemed completely fine as if nothing had just happened. "I told you these things were magically bound," he said with a smirk.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Cloud asked, still a little surprised.

"Yeah, but no one warmed me about the pain. Any more questions?"

"Just one."

"Shoot."

"Can I kiss you now?" the blonde asked, knowing it wasn't totally appropriate seeing their serious situation.

The question caught Leon off guard, and he just let out a loud chuckle and answered him by leaning placing the hand that wasn't holding Cloud's onto the side of the blonde's face and leaning in. Cloud placed his free hand softly against Leon's naked chest and met him half way to connect their lips. The kiss was slow, but super sweet from Leon's part as he stroked Cloud's cheek with a finger, and the way Leon exhaled slowly through his nose tickled Cloud's face. Leon drew back after a few more moments, their lips giving off a light smack noise.

"That's all you're getting for now," Leon said, smirking as he saw the pink hue on Cloud's face. In the following moments, Leon stared very intently at Cloud's chest and he even squinted a bit to see if what he was seeing was real. He practically pounced onto the blonde and pinned him against his mattress as he shoved Cloud's shirt up to his chin.

The way Leon's hands touched his chest, Cloud's skin was way too sensitive for this.

"Leon! What are you doing? This is way too soon! We've just had our first kiss!" Cloud was squirming under the brunette's touch, trying to fight back as he tried to pull his shirt back down.

"Shh Cloud, look!" Leon was ecstatic about what he saw, but right now he needed to calm Cloud down if he wanted to share his happiness.

"Wha?" The blonde stopped squirming and fighting back and just looked up at Leon, confused.

"Look!"

He looked down towards his chest. Over the area of his heart was the same intricate circular rune that was glowing above Leon's heart just minutes ago, except his didn't glow, or disappear, instead it looked like a very permanent tattoo.

"How come I didn't feel any pain?" Cloud asked, touching his fingers slightly onto the rune. "It's not disappearing."

"It wasn't designed for you to feel the pain, it's not embedded into your heart like mine, that's why it's not disappearing because it's only temporary. It will disappear if you were to take off that ring. It happens when our bond gets strengthened, but I didn't expect it so soon." Leon sat back up straddling Cloud's hips, admiring the way Cloud looked laying down on the mattress with his shirt bundled up under his arms, drinking up the image of his toned abs.

Cloud frantically pulled his shirt down and pushed Leon away as he sat back up and was too busy straightening out his shirt that he didn't notice Leon was playing with his phone on his side of the bed.

"You have a cute butt by the way," Leon said as he stared at his phone's screensaver. A second later a 'poof' could be heard, and Leon looked up from his phone, "What was that?" He was confused since the noise sounded like it came from Cloud and he saw the blonde clutching his head, as if trying to hide something. "Something wrong, Cloud? Does your head hurt?" He approached the blonde a bit, but the other scooted away.

"Don't say stuff like that!" A blush was apparent on his face and the tips of his ears.

"What are you hiding? What's on your head?" Leon asked in mild concern, he saw something moving behind Cloud's body, flicking back and forth. "Is that a tail?"

Cloud was obviously not thinking straight as he let go of his head to clutch behind to hide the tail, but it was too late to correct himself as Leon openly stared.

"Are those cat ears?" They were indeed cat ears and the way they twitched to the sound of his voice indicated that they were also very real. The color of the fur was the same as Cloud's blonde head but with light orange stripes running horizontally like the pattern on a tabby cat.

"Don't look!" Cloud was trying to hide as he threw the edge of the blanket over himself to hide his ears and tail.

Leon was very calm, just a little shocked at how cute Cloud was with the animalistic traits. "Why do you have them? And they've _just _appeared because..?"

"A certain black mage thought it'd be funny to cast a spell on me. They only appear when I get embarrassed or someone scares the stardust out of my ass. They'll go away after I've calmed down a bit."

Leon didn't ask permission as he slowly, very slowly in fact, pulled the blanket off of Cloud's head. Cloud was currently looking down at the mattress and just picking at the bed sheets, his blush seemed a few shades lighter than it was a minute ago.

"Can I touch them?"

"…"

Leon had hesitantly reached out and put his hand into Cloud's hair, slowly sliding his hand up to his cat ears. His ears were had softer fur than any real cat, and the moment the brunette started scratching those ears, Cloud stopped picking at the bed sheet and closed his eyes. The more Leon scratched, the more Cloud leaned into his touch and he started to unconsciously crawl towards him until he was completely in Leon's lap, body pressed firmly against the brunette's with his legs on both sides of Leon's hips. The shirtless butler was enjoying this more than Cloud was, watching his face show a look of bliss, and with only the thin material of Cloud's shirt separating their chests, he could feel vibrations coming off from his chest. The blonde was purring and had his arms wrapped loosely around Leon's shoulders, leaning his head at the base of Leon's neck. The young master was absentmindedly licking at Leon' neck, which sent shivers all down his back.

The neglected tail caught Leon's attention as it brushed against Leon's elbow. The hand that was scratching Cloud's ears had moved to softly catch the tail in midair, the fur as soft as Cloud's ears and matching striped patterns. Leon started stroking his tail, and Cloud let out a moan he was trying to hold back. Leon continued to stroke his tail for a few more minutes while Cloud continued to lap his tongue at the brunette's jawline. Cloud's hips suddenly jerked forward when Leon scratched a sensitive spot near the base of his tail, where his cat tail met his human skin.

"Oh gods Leon, that feels so erotic. Don't stop," Cloud moaned out.

Leon only scratched a few seconds more before stopping. He didn't want things to escalate because it was too soon in their relationship.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Because I still owe you for the bellyflop, this morning, and your butt tattoo, right? Name it, how can I make it up to you?" Leon motioned for Cloud to move off of him as he put on his shirt that he picked out earlier.

Cloud laid down on the bed with his eyes shut, concentrating on Leon's soothing voice so that he could clam down and have his ears and tail go away. After a few moments of concentrating, he willed cat traits away and felt them disappear after his breathing calmed down and he answered Leon, "Show me something I haven't seen before."

After a few moments of silence, Leon figured it out and sat on the edge of the bed again while he looked down at Cloud whose eyes were still shut. "Have you ever been to the supermarket?"

"No"

* * *

><p>"Cloud, people don't bring oversized butcher knives to the supermarket, put your sword back down."<p>

The blonde was halfway out the doorway that led to the outside.

"But Leon!"

"Leave it. I have my gunblade if anything happens. We'll be back by dinner anyway."

First Leon didn't let him take Fenrir to the supermarket because apparently it wasn't capable of holding groceries and they had to take Leon's new car. Second, Leon didn't let him drive because it was 'the butler's job.' And now, Leon didn't let him bring his sword.

Leon was unfair.

* * *

><p>Wide curious blue eyes scanned its surroundings. There was so much pretty colorful fruit laid out before him and aisles and aisles of snacks, although Cloud Strife was not much of a snacker.<p>

"Woah!" Cloud spotted something and ran in a direction away from Leon as he started his supermarket adventure.

"I'll be here in the produce," Leon called after him.

Leon got stuck pushing the shopping cart, but he didn't mind, it was part of his job. He picked out the fruit and vegetables needed at home and after a few minutes, he turned around to be faced with an oversized stuffed baby chocobo.

"I didn't know supermarkets had stuffed animals. I'm getting his for Sora," Cloud said as he dropped the doll into the cart. "What's that?" he said, pointing to something in the cart.

"That's taro," Leon said. He continued to push the cart through the aisle.

"That's supposed to be food? That looks like glorified shit."

Some people were openly staring at the two hot men at the supermarket, while some others were glaring at the blonde for his language and covering their children's ears.

It was expected that Cloud would disappear again off on his own, and he did, but he didn't return alone this time.

"Leon, look what I found." Cloud was standing next to a little blonde girl with long pigtails and bright green eyes. She was only about half of Cloud's height and was holding onto his hand and was in a fit of giggles.

"Cloud, you're not supposed to kidnap other people's kids."

"No Leon, this is the little brat that cast that spell on me. She's my cousin, Rose." He turned to look down at the little girl and asked, "Rose, where's your guardian?"

A second later, a deep voice could be heard not that far away in a normal tone, "Rose? Where are you?"

The little girl Rose looked like he immediately recognized the voice as she called back, "Vin?" in a small angelic voice.

Seconds later, Vincent Valentine appeared at the end of the aisle and Rose rushed into his open arms.

"Don't run off like that again, okay? Stay close to me." He looked up and greeted, "Hello Cloud. Hey Leon, long time no see."

* * *

><p>AN: This felt like a really long chapter to write _ Only because it took a long time to get into words what I wanted! Originally I had planned on pairing Vincent with Yuffie, but the thought of seeing Vincent take care of a precious baby girl just makes me smile. You will learn about their story and a little background on Rose in the next chapter.

I didn't take the time to reread this.. I'm really tired so forgive me if there are a lot of errors.

Please, don't forget to R&R!


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